Lynzee Glass joins WATT Global Media’s marketing team as Forum Marketing Coordinator. She is responsible for marketing, communications and event-specific projects for poultry, pig, animal feed and pet food companies.- Arysta LifeScience North America welcomes Greg Adams as the territory sales manager for Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and southern Missouri.
- Pinnacle Operating Corporation is pleased to announce that Robert Marchbank has been named President and Chief Executive Officer. Marchbank will lead Pinnacle’s agriculture retail and wholesale distribution businesses across 27 states.
- MGEX, a Designated Contract Market and Derivatives Clearing Organization, announced the conclusion of its fiscal year on Thursday, August 31, 2017 at 2,806,706 contracts.
John Deere Expands 9RX Tractor Lineup
John Deere launched the new 9RX Narrow Track Tractor at the 2017 Farm Progress Show. The tractor is available in 420, 470 or 520 horsepower, with 18- or 24-inch wide belt tracks. Farmers looking to work within a track spacing of 88 or 120 inches can do that with these tractors, says Tiffany Turner, John Deere product marketing manager for large series tractors.
“It completes our row crop portfolio. It helps meet our customers’ needs,” says Turner. “They asked when this was coming and they were excited to see it on the lot.”
The 9RX Narrow Track Tractor is available for order today from local John Deere dealers with production beginning in January 2018.
Learn more in Chuck’s interview with Tiffany Turner from last week’s Farm Progress Show: Interview with Tiffany Turner, John Deere
View all photos from FPS here: 2017 Farm Progress Show Photo Album
Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by 
GROWMARK Supports Hurricane Harvey Relief Efforts
GROWMARK has donated $50,000 to support relief efforts following Hurricane Harvey through the Midwest Food Bank, a Salvation Army First Responder organization. The contribution was made through The GROWMARK Foundation, GROWMARK’s philanthropic arm which supports not-for-profit charitable organizations.
“They have put together disaster relief boxes to help those residents who have been affected by Harvey,” said GROWMARK Foundation manager Amy Bradford. “We know that Midwest Food Bank has sent five semis full of thousands of these boxes and hygiene kits to help in the Houston, Texas and Louisiana area.”
GROWMARK’s donation will enable the Midwest Food Bank and the Salvation Army to continue their important mission for as long as there is a need. In addition, Bradford says employees throughout the GROWMARK System continue to individually support relief efforts, and they will be watching the situation developing with Hurricane Irma to determine what help might be needed in the aftermath of that storm heading our way.
Click here to learn more about Midwest Food Bank and listen to this interview with Amy for details: Interview with Amy Bradford, GROWMARK
John Deere 2025R Compact Tractor Gets Complete Overhaul
The completely redesigned John Deere 2025R Compact Utility Tractor has a Final Tier 4-compliant diesel engine providing customers with an easy-to-use, versatile machine designed to tackle a variety of jobs. Jon Schebler, product manager for the 2025R series, took us through the specs of the redesigned tractor at the 2017 Farm Progress Show.
“When we think of this kind of tractor, we think about folks who have a small acreage. Maybe they have equine, some livestock and snow removal is a great application for this machine,” Schebler added.
The 2025R comes equipped with TwinTouch™ foot controls, allowing the operator to select speed and direction of travel with the light touch of a toe, reducing operator fatigue and increasing productivity. With the addition of the optional Auto-Throttle, the operator can automatically increase or decrease engine speed while pressing on either of the TwinTouch pedals. The 2025R also features equal forward and reverse ground speed, which, when combined with the TwinTouch pedals, allows for faster direction changes.
Listen to my complete interview with Jon here: Interview with Jon Schebler, John Deere
View John Deere photos here: John Deere at #FPS17 Photo Album
View all our photos from FPS here: 2017 Farm Progress Show Photo Album
Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by
Haller joins Brownfield as Research Director
Ted Haller has been named director of the Brownfield Ag News research team. Haller comes from a diverse media background, working on the agency side and in radio for accounts like Bayer, Monsanto, Dow Animal Health, John Deere, AGCO and BASF. He has also been involved with the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) and was part of the group that developed standardized ratings for Ag Radio.
“Ted’s experience and understanding of ag media makes him the perfect fit for our already well-established research team,” said John Baker, Senior Vice President of Brownfield. “Along with our award-winning broadcasters, dedicated affiliate relations crew and digital team, we are pleased to provide yet another resource for our advertising partners.”
Vietnam to Resume Imports of U.S. DDGS
The government of Vietnam has notified the U.S. that it will resume imports of American distillers dried grains (DDGS), which were suspended in December 2016 after reported detections of quarantine pests in U.S. shipments, according to USDA.
Prior to the suspension, Vietnam was the third-largest market for U.S. DDGS, with exports valued at more than $230 million in 2016. The resolution of this issue also opens the way for corn and wheat shipments, which were restricted due to previous treatment requirements.
The DDGS ban is one of several agricultural and other priority issues raised in connection with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s visit to Washington in May 2017, where he met with President Trump as well as Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. Following the series of meetings, the two governments released a joint statement pledging to work closely together to resolve the DDGS issue.
Bayer Campaign Focuses on Rural Health
Bayer is partnering with American Heart Association to encourage wellness in rural communities. Statistics show 600,000 people die annually from heart disease, and about 20 percent of those people live in rural America. People in rural communities also have a 50 percent higher likelihood of having preventable heart disease.
In 2017, for every bag of LibertyLink soybean seed purchased, Bayer made a donation to the American Heart Association on behalf of that grower. Awareness is the goal, according to Allen Gent, strategic business lead at Bayer. “The intention was to really get out there and talk about something that’s impacting us as a society and ask how can we bring that message to rural America,” says Gent.
Bayer committed up to $500,000 to the American Heart Association’s Healthy For Good movement.
Learn more in Chuck’s interview with Allen Gent from last week’s Farm Progress Show: Interview with Allen Gent, Bayer
View Bayer photos here: Bayer CropScience at #FPS17 Photo Album
View all photos from FPS here: 2017 Farm Progress Show Photo Album
Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by
Wisconsin Sends 17,000 lbs. of Cheese to Houston
Driven by online conversations shortly after Hurricane Harvey, Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board’s (WMMB) Social Media Specialist, Lizzy Schultz, wondered how they could help. After a team meeting, the idea became a quick reality. Wisconsin’s cheesemakers were contacted and more than 17,000 pounds of cheese was sent to Houston to help the victims of the hurricane.
“We are deeply saddened by the devastation facing Texas residents in the wake of Hurricane Harvey,” said Suzanne Fanning, WMMB vice president of marketing communications. “Our Wisconsin cheesemakers and dairy farmers are inherently focused on helping others so we offered them a way to get involved.”
The original goal was 200 pounds of cheese, but donors came through with more than 17,000 pounds of smoked string cheese, cheese curds, muenster, Parmesan, classic cheddar and more. The shipment also included 300 pounds of butter all in route to the Houston Food Bank.
Both Lizzy and Suzanne send a huge shout out to the dairy farmers and cheesemakers. They said they are always focused on what they can do to help people and students. The fact that Dairy Farm Families of Wisconsin wanted to fund this project and the cheesemakers willingness to come forward at such a short notice is another testament to the good people in the agricultural community.
You might remember Lizzy as one of our former ZimmComm team members. She often jumped on the agriblogging highway and we are very excited to see her passion and commitment to the agricultural industry shine in her short time at WMMB.
I had the chance to chat with both Lizzy and Suzanne to learn more about their efforts to give back and how excited they were to have so many join the force to help in relief efforts. Listen to our complete chat here: Interview with Suzanne Fanning & Lizzy Schultz, WMMB
FMC Offers Freedom Pass Program
FMC has introduced a new program for Very Independent Purchasers called the FMC Freedom Pass. Farmers are pretty independent and want freedom of choices as much as possible. According to Mike Harper, industry relations manager for FMC Agricultural Solutions in the U.S. and Canada, the company is giving them that opportunity. I visited with Mike in the Illinois Soybean Association tent during the Farm Progress Show.
The FMC Freedom Pass provides growers exclusive agronomic rewards, performance assurances, application innovations and product financing. And these valuable incentives aren’t linked to the purchase of any particular brand of seed. Mike says growers can contact their authorized retailer or visit www.fmcagus.com for more information on the program. The program dates are September 1, 2017 – August 31, 2018. Mike explains the pillars of the program during our conversation. When it comes to financing their are 0% options which you can find out more about here. With special purchase commitments growers may qualify to receive a free 3RIVE 3D application system.
Listen to my interview with Mike to learn more about the program: Interview with Mike Harper, FMC
Mid-Missouri Energy Goes John Deere Green
Mid-Missouri Energy (MME) in Malta Bend, Missouri is home to a new piece of equipment that has helped make the grounds around the ethanol plant a little greener.
MME General Manager Chris Wilson won the John Deere ZTrak Z925M Flex Fuel commercial mower during a raffle at the Renewable Fuels Association 2017 National Ethanol Conference. The E85 used in the mower comes from a local fuel retailer less than one mile away.
In this edition of The Ethanol Report podcast, Wilson talks about the Mid-Mo Mower, the use of ethanol blends in small engines, and how much he appreciates John Deere’s support of farmers and the ethanol industry.